Feb 18 Cindy Finch makes a difference at Woodland Hills

By Dana Teubert
Twelve years after making the move, Cindy Finch said she doesn’t regret her decision to switch to Woodland Hills youth agency from her previous job at the Duluth News Tribune.

Finch said her motivation comes from, "knowing that she is using her skill set to improve the human condition and help others."

A year after graduating from the University of Minnesota Duluth in 1984, Finch accepted a job at the Duluth News Tribune as a copywriter and eventually advanced to promotions manager. Finch worked there for 12 years on a variety of community events and sponsorships.

Her favorite thing about working with the Duluth News Tribune was that she always knew what was going on, Finch said. She enjoyed having the inside scoop, even for things that they could not publish.

"It was a lot of fun to have a finished product at the end," she said.

She said that working for the paper was a "double-edged sword;" there was always something happening and always something to finish by deadline, but at the same time Finch said she liked adrenaline rush.

Finch decided to leave the paper in 1997 to work at Woodland Hills, a youth services agency. There she works as the agency's relations director. Finch said she doesn’t regret her decision to leave the paper, but she misses the connections and opportunities that the Duluth News Tribune had to offer.

At Woodland Hills Finch, "likes helping kids who deserve an opportunity to succeed."

Finch loves Woodland Hills, but she would leave for her dream job: A food and travel writer. That way she could travel the world and get paid for it, she said.

Looking back on her college years, Finch said she would only do one thing different - get out and study abroad.

What drove her to success was the influence of strong, powerful people who did something with their lives, which she always looked up to, Finch said. One person who inspired her was a fellow reporter at the Duluth News Tribune, Lloyd Hurtsel. Hurtsel left his job at the paper and moved to Minneapolis to pursue bigger jobs with national magazines.

Finch continues to strive for greatness. She has returned to school several times in the last few years. Most recently, she returned to earn her organizational management degree.

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